More specifics on EEE, please; Toward more succinct diplomacy

News that a 4-year-old child from New Haven in Oswego County reportedly has died after contracting Eastern Equine Encephalitis — EEE — from a mosquito bite is alarming. It’s particularly worrisome because there is no sure-fire treatment for EEE, and no preventive vaccine.

EEE fatalities are rare: This is only the fifth death in New York state in 40 years — though all five cases were in Central New York, three in the past three years. Although contracting EEE is rare and not always fatal, most survivors suffer brain damage.

Where did this child likely come in contact with an infected mosquito? Were there circumstances that made her particularly vulnerable to the virus? What is the risk to other 4-year-olds, other children and adults in Oswego and surrounding Central New York counties? Is Oswego County taking any new precautions to minimize the risk of more infections?

Monday afternoon, health officials in Oswego County were a bit more forthcoming. At first, they weren’t saying much at all. Last week they reported finding the EEE virus in mosquitoes collected in five Oswego towns — Central Square, Volney, Albion, Palermo and Hastings — and that a horse in Scriba had died from EEE. But they still were not revealing any details about the child’s fatal illness.

Health authorities urge the public to avoid mosquito-infested areas, particularly from dusk to dawn; cover up; use insect repellent containing DEET; keep screens in good repair; and get rid of standing water where mosquitoes breed.

Such general advisories are good to know. Even better would be some straight talk from health officials about the specifics of this case and its implications.

Toward more succinct diplomacy

In an effort to conserve trees as well as finances, to ease the strain on translators and save diplomats’ time, the United Nations is setting a length limit on its reports. From now on, all reports from intergovernmental bodies must be no longer than 10,700 words; the U.N. secretariat has an 8,500-word limit on its reports.

Limiting reports from this notably verbose organization to just 43 pages — 34 pages for the U.N. secretary’s office — is quite a stretch. A brief glimpse at the recent output of a single U.N. panel, the Economic and Social Council, tells the story:

Here’s an idea: Instead of spending all that time and money publishing these documents that few pay much attention to, how about issuing executive summaries and succinct analyses? The extended verbiage can then be uploaded to the limitless archives of the Internet. It’s just as easy for diplomats not to read something online as in print.